Scientists Develop Lollipop Device That Lets You Taste’ Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality has been around for a while. As early as the ‘90s, kids could play VR games at the local arcade. It was amazing for the time, blasting lasers at geometrical humans. Still, the technology was far from perfect— low-grade animations, an off-kilter sense of gravity, and limited sensory experience. Recreating our real-life experience has always been the aim of VR, at least, that’s what decades of sci-fi and anime films have hinted at. 

In 2024, researchers in China brought us one step closer to making taste a “virtual” reality. At the City University of Hong Kong, a team invented the “VR mouthpiece,” which is described as a “portable lollipop-shaped gustation interface.” It was designed to simulate taste via VR applications. 

“Alongside visual, auditory, haptic, and olfactory sensations, taste significantly influences both the physiological and psychological aspects of human experience, however, the research in the development of taste-generating technologies in VR applications is still in its infancy,” according to the study.

The “lollipop” is equipped with numerous taste generators capable of producing nine different flavors that include sugar, salt, citric acid, cherry, passion fruit, green tea, milk, durian and grapefruit. The device secretes food-grade gel that tastes like the flavor you’re experiencing in VR.

It then emits an electrical current that stimulates the gel pockets, which contain flavored chemicals that mimic taste when combined with saliva. Increasing the current intensifies the flavor, and the inverse when it is decreased. Other potential applications for the VR lollipop include remote shopping, human-machine interfaces and entertainment. Click here to read the study in full.